Fly Factory – Flying Trapeze for Adrenaline seeking Athletes!

Finding new and exciting school holiday activities is always a challenge. My girls are constantly looking for a new rush! Flying Trapeze definitely fit the bill by pushing the boundaries of fear, adrenaline and excitement all in one!

Review: Fly Factory – Awaken the Wow!

And awaken the WOW we did!

On the weekend, my girls and I attended a Flying Trapeze Experience 2 Hour Workshop at the Fly Factory in Blackburn, Victoria. This was a truly unforgettable experience!

What is flying trapeze?

Flying trapeze is a specific form of trapeze where the flyer swings from a platform holding a horizontal bar that is suspended by two ropes.

We were greeted by the very charismatic Steen and two other friendly instructors for the afternoon. Not just extremely talented flyers, the instructors were quite clearly entertainers with lots of tricks mixed in with plenty jokes along the way!

We started off by putting on our harnesses and running through a few safety procedures. All calm at this stage.

A few warm up drills on the floor followed to loosen up the muscles. We learned the basic but important cues for taking off – “ready” (bend the knees to get ready) and “hup” (jump!). Easy, no problem at all.

Next, we each took turns on a low bar to practice skills before heading up the ladder. We rehearsed knee hangs and the arched position to prepare for the knee hang catch. Hey, I can do this. All good.

Then it was time to fly. Nothing to worry about.

The kids loved it!

My youngest daughter was so excited she was one of the first in the group to go. I watched her eagerly climb up the ladder to the platform, jump off and swing like a monkey! She absolutely loved it and was totally hooked from then on! She couldn’t wait to have her next turn each time and learn the next trick!

My eldest daughter, also climbed, jumped and swung with ease and no fear. Didn’t bat an eyelid!

Are they both related to me?

I was up next!

Then it was my turn, the last one in the group, no one else to wait for. I climbed up the ladder and got myself to the top of the platform. You’re all good, just don’t look down. “Put your toes over the edge and reach your right arm out to hold the bar.” OMG, are you serious?

I have to admit that I was ridiculously scared the first time I had to do this! Leaning out over the platform, 7 meters high off the ground. Yes, there was a huge net underneath me and yes, the instructor was holding me from behind, and yes, I was wearing a harness that another instructor was holding, but none of that matters when you are totally petrified! Don’t think, just do it!

Even though I managed to execute the first swing without any issues once I eventually limped off the platform, I am not sure I really enjoyed it to tell you the truth. I just got through it. I was trembling for quite a while after it too. Just as well there was about 20 minutes for me to recover before my next turn.

Nerves subside after the first swing

In total, we got 4 swings each. Each progressed in skill from the next, up to the final swing. After the first time, I definitely found my confidence grew with each swing as I focused on the actual swinging and skills required rather than the jump off the platform. That was the hardest part for me with my fear of heights. I just never looked down. As you are swinging so fast, you really need to concentrate and execute quickly on the instructions given in order to make sure the timing of the swing is right for the catch.

The final swing was one to a knee hang (hooking your knees on the bar and taking your hands off whilst swinging above the net), then to a knee hang catch with the instructor (whilst releasing your knees from your bar), to swing up and back, then a release from the instructor into a half turn to catch your original bar to swing and dismount with a back somersault. Sounds crazy doesn’t it! But if I can do it (well ok, not quite all of it – didn’t manage the half turn catch along with most others) then I’m sure you can too! The fact that I still have something to conquer leaves that little bit of enticement drawing me to come back to knock it off!

Of course, my girls just thought nothing of it and breezed through each time with my eldest actually completing the final swing element of the half twist release to catch the oncoming bar finished with a back sault, although not in the most dainty fashion!

Would we do it again?

YES!

My youngest would love to go every day!! She would love to swing all day long! In fact, she couldn’t wait to hurry back so we have booked her birthday party next month at Fly Factory!

My eldest would love to go again. She is ready to move on to a more advanced class. The next one after this beginner session is the Casual & Rookie Flying Trapeze Class.

As for me, yes, I probably would do it again. I think I was just beginning to get my confidence up and get the feel for what I needed to do by the last swing. I would love to complete all the elements of that fourth sequence!

Fly Factory – Highly Recommended for all the family!

We would highly recommend this flying trapeze experience at Fly Factory for anyone after an exhilarating, exciting and challenging experience!

It is great for kids and also for adults, even us older ones!! Yes, you can do it! Just give it a try and you might surprise yourself!

You can find out about all the different types of classes from the Fly Factory website.

OMGosh! My palms are sweaty just reading your blog!
I did the Wild Ropes course at Taronga Zoo (Sydney) before I turned 50 (a couple of years ago). That pushed me out of my comfort zone but I did come out of it thinking I felt “safe and secure” in their harnesses. So now there’s another opportunity to do it again next month with a bunch of people ….. so I think I’ll give it another go!